Chapter 28: Spider-Man vs. Venom
"Hail Hydra," the voice on the phone said.
"Hail Hydra," Crossbones replied.
After ending the call, Crossbones turned toward the Winter Soldier beside him.
"I'm counting on you for this."
Winter Soldier nodded slightly.
Crossbones was already used to his taciturn attitude.
"Boss, we've located Spider-Man," the agent carrying the rocket launcher reported.
"Then what are you waiting for? Lock on and open fire. Make sure it hits."
"His condition… seems a little off," the agent added hesitantly.
"Off?" Crossbones frowned.
He put on his night vision goggles and looked toward Spider-Man's position.
What he saw made him pause. Spider-Man appeared to be fighting something.
Spider-Man was dodging left and right in mid-air, seemingly evading an invisible attack. His webbing shot out continuously, but appeared to strike nothing, having no effect whatsoever.
Crossbones' eyes lit up.
A perfect opportunity.
Spider-Man was clearly being entangled by something. Whatever it was, it restricted his movement. More importantly, that interference would disrupt his danger sensing ability, greatly increasing the chances of a direct rocket hit.
"You all wait for the right moment, and attack the instant Spider-Man lets his guard down," Crossbones instructed.
"Boss, what is that thing he's fighting?"
"Don't worry about it. Our only target tonight is Spider-Man. Everything else is irrelevant."
"Yes, sir."
"All units, take aim," the lead agent ordered. "On my command, we fire together."
"Yes."
The agents carrying rocket launchers all aimed at Spider-Man's location.
The Winter Soldier behind them also put on his night vision goggles and focused his gaze on Spider-Man.
He wanted to analyze Spider-Man's techniques, so that he could subdue him as quickly as possible in the coming battle.
On the other side, Venom clung tightly to Spider-Man. No matter how violently Spider-Man tore at it, he couldn't peel the creature off his body.
"Venom, how did you end up here? Doctor Octopus hasn't even obtained my blood to create you yet."
"Who is Doctor Octopus? Venom is Venom, not created by anyone," Venom replied, his voice rough and guttural.
"Wait, you can talk? Aren't you only supposed to speak when you're bonded to a host?" Spider-Man was confused. This universe's Venom seemed different from the one he knew.
"Venom will eat you," the symbiote snarled, opening a massive, jagged maw as it lunged.
"Venom, could you maybe keep your mouth shut? It's really terrifying," Spider-Man said with a playful tone, while simultaneously trying to tear Venom off his body.
As the fight dragged on, Spider-Man gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Half his body was already enveloped by Venom.
"Venom, I really didn't want to use this. It hurts."
With great effort, he freed both hands and fired webbing onto his own body, switching it to an electric discharge mode.
"Aaah!"
"Aaaargh!"
The roars of Spider-Man and Venom overlapped, echoing through the night.
The electric shock weakened Venom, loosening its grip.
As the duration of the electric shock increased, Venom panicked and retreated from Spider-Man's body.
Venom pulled back, but Spider-Man wasn't in much better shape. The prolonged electrical discharge had taken a heavy toll on him.
Though his body swayed unsteadily, his mind remained razor sharp. He stared at Venom with unwavering caution.
Spider-Man knew the electric shock was nowhere near enough to defeat Venom.
And just as he expected, after a brief pause, Venom spread itself out completely.
In an instant, the symbiote transformed into a vast black tide, roaring as it surged toward Spider-Man.
Venom intended to swallow him whole, leaving no room for resistance.
"I never thought there'd come a day when I'd miss Flash Thompson this much," Spider-Man muttered, staring at the oncoming black sea.
"What the hell is that thing?" one of the Hydra agents whispered, his voice trembling.
Even battle hardened operatives couldn't help but feel fear in the face of such a terrifying sight.
That black ocean was simply overwhelming.
"Ignore it," Crossbones barked, though his own voice shook. "Our orders are to eliminate Spider-Man."
Even Crossbones, who had seen countless deaths, felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"Eat you."
The black tide surged forward.
"Venom, let me tell you something," Spider-Man called out. "Water conducts electricity. I'm not sure if you do, but let's find out."
He fired webbing that latched onto Venom and switched it to electric mode.
"Aaarghh!"
Venom's massive form convulsed violently as the current surged through it.
"Looks like you conduct electricity after all." Spider-Man increased the intensity of the shock.
Venom's body continued to contract, shrinking rapidly until it was no larger than a fist.
"Hurry," Venom rasped.
"Hurry? Hurry what?" Spider-Man frowned.
At that moment, the dormant symbiote residue hidden within Spider-Man suddenly surged forth.
The black fragment slapped onto his face, catching him completely off guard.
"What?! How is this possible? When did that happen?"
Spider-Man stopped the electric shock and frantically began tearing at the Venom residue on his face with both hands.
By the time he finally tore the residue free, Venom's main body had already rushed in.
The two masses fused together in an instant.
Spider-Man was immediately plunged into a hopeless disadvantage. Most of his body was overtaken by the symbiote.
"Venom will eat you!"
"Venom, could you at least come up with a new line?" Spider-Man shot back, struggling to free his hands. "Repeating yourself really kills the suspense."
He tried to repeat his earlier tactic, but Venom gave him no chance, locking his arms in place.
"Now!" Crossbones shouted.
"Fire!" the lead agent commanded.
Several rockets streaked toward Spider-Man.
Spider-Man had just managed to free his hands when his spider-sense flared again.
"Why do all my worst days have to happen at once?"
He turned around and saw several rockets hurtling straight toward him.
Venom had wrapped around his body, leaving him unable to dodge.
Spider-Man fired web shots, striking the incoming rockets one by one. Each hit detonated midair.
But when only a single rocket remained, Venom suddenly swallowed his hands.
With no hand free to fire webbing, the last rocket flew straight at him.
Boom!
The rocket hit Spider-Man and Venom directly, and its immense power blasted them both away.
"Did we… did we take out Spider-Man and that monster?" one agent asked, staring at the motionless figures.
"Winter Soldier, go check," Crossbones ordered.
The Winter Soldier casually picked up a shotgun and headed toward the battlefield.
Just as Hydra believed the mission was complete and the Winter Soldier advanced,
Venom quietly crept back onto Spider-Man's unconscious body.
The red and blue suit was slowly engulfed, turning pitch black.